U.S. calls Iranian response 'serious offer' worth review

No rush to seek sanctions in White House reaction.

No rush to seek sanctions in White House reaction.

August 24, 2006|PETER SPIEGEL Los Angeles Times

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration said Wednesday that Iran's response to international efforts to restrain its nuclear program fell short of a U.N. Security Council demand that Iran suspend its uranium enrichment activities by Aug. 31. But U.S. officials declined to say whether Iran's action meant the United States would push for economic sanctions against Tehran at the United Nations next week. The administration's refusal to call immediately for sanctions marked a change in tone from signals sent by American officials before Iran issued a 21-page counteroffer Tuesday. Over the last week, senior U.S. diplomats had warned that anything short of a halt of Iran's enrichment program would lead to a quick U.S.-led push for targeted sanctions at the United Nations. The U.S. stance appeared even more muted than that taken Wednesday by France, where Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy told reporters that any return to the negotiating table would depend on Iran suspending its enrichment program. The Security Council is scheduled to meet Aug. 31 to officially consider Iran's response and decide whether it should move toward sanctions. The Bush administration's reaction came in an announcement by the State Department, where a spokesman called the Iranian response "a serious offer" that warranted review. White House spokesman Dana Perino said afterward that while Iran did not meet the key requirements on enrichment and reprocessing, the U.S. was continuing to discuss the document with the other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, to decide whether to push for sanctions. "I think that we need some time to review it and to discuss what the next steps are," Perino said. It remained unclear whether the Bush administration's subdued reaction to the Iranian document was a signal of a genuine willingness to re-engage with Tehran on the nuclear issue or simply an attempt to demonstrate publicly that it was not dismissing the Iranian proposal out of hand. European allies have been pushing the U.S. to refrain from quick pronouncements, noting Western powers castigated the Iranian government last year when it immediately rejected a European Union offer of political and economic cooperation in return for a cessation of its enrichment program. "We criticized Iran for the way they dismissed the offer we made in 2005 without even looking at it," said another European diplomat. "It would behoove us to take some time and look at this."